Just Enough
by Ngame
Summary: Star and Marco reflect on their past, explore something new in the present, and look forward to the future while celebrating a special occasion. (Cover image an actual pic of the blood moon from my apartment!)


**A/N: I'm back with a big old bowl of fluff! I know I've been super inactive, grad school's just like that. Follow my Tumblr (Ngame989) for any updates on my fics, show analysis, or other projects.**

 **Inspired by the recent blood moon, the show's anniversary, and a particular set of gorgeous fanart by Cheeriel on Tumblr, here ya go.**

 **Warning: There's some risque content here, though nothing explicit.**

* * *

"Hey, Star, hold on a minute." Marco mumbled out, his breath tickling her ear as she continued her trail of light kisses up the side of his neck. Star leaned back just far enough to give him an inquisitive look while remaining comfortably in his lap on her bed.

"Oh corn, is this too much? I just figured, y'know- I thought tonight might be good to, um- to try something new." The last thing Star wanted was to take things at a tempo that made either uncomfortable, especially with how new this all was to them. She'd already taken the initiative once tonight, and it was going well so far - a fact she was reminded of when her nerves were set alight by Marco's hands delicately stroking the skin of her back.

Marco's own sense of love focused far less on the physical than many, he knew that, but it didn't escape him that Star was beautiful in every sense of the word. Tonight was a testament to that fact, his breath hitching every time the twinkling light from the night sky highlighted her delicate form. "It's fine, I'm, uh- this is really nice," he stammered. Coherent thoughts were a challenge right now, let alone _words_. Marco was acutely aware of just how close they were, even as he lost himself in their first delicate forays towards something _more_ in their relationship. He couldn't help but be exceedingly careful about how to sit and where to move and _especially_ where to keep his hands. It was all he could do to just try not to mess it up like a typical Marco, let alone even _thinking_ about what next steps they could take. But Star's tender kisses and affectionate coos pushed him past his own self-doubt and helped him enjoy this experience that he wanted just as much as she did. He dove forward for a quick peck on the lips to make sure _she_ knew that, too.

"What's up, then? If this is about your abs again…" Star muttered, recalling their recent conversations on the subject of tonight as she flexed the fingers that had idly burrowed their way under his pajama shirt some time ago. He let out a cross between a giggle and a sigh at her touch, still somewhat ticklish even in times like this.

His arms unwrapped themselves from her back to grab hers in an attempt to stop the affectionate attack. "No, not that either," he mumbled while still playfully vying for control. She paid careful attention to the glimmer of joy in his brown eyes, the loving smile that always seemed just a little bit wider when it was reserved for her, and the characteristic little breaks in his composure as their intimacy mingled with goofy antics. This was far from her first time noticing these things before, but _this_ was fairly new to them. Like anything else in their relationship, they were just taking it as it came, trying to do what they felt right. There were times this had led them to mistakes and hurt feelings (and there would be more in the future, they knew), but the unearthly – no, nothing on Mewni could compare either, Star decided – sensations electrifying her produced a certainty that tonight wasn't one of them. Satisfied for the moment, she finally relented and let her hands go limp, resting them flush against his chest.

"Well, good, because you know I'll love you either way," she stated earnestly, but her eyes still stole a quick glance down to the sliver of torso still exposed by her ministrations. "Buuuuut while we're on the subject… I like what I see," she purred. Marco had grown just a bit taller and broader lately (though a far cry from in Hekapoo's dimension) but that was hardly the primary reason she found herself so enthralled with him right now. _Definitely a nice bonus, though,_ she mentally concluded as her blush deepened. She removed herself from his nightshirt, fingers tracing over him like a gentle breeze, and let their still-joined arms fall on her lap.

Marco brought his right hand to her face and caressed her cheek, stopping over the heart emblem. "It's just that, uh, I think your hearts are glowing. But _pink_ this time," he added, cutting off the anticipated retort that her marks had glowed in a handful of moments between them in the past.

"Well that's new," she muttered, squishing her own face until she finally caught a glimpse, barely distinguishable from the color of her cheeks themselves in the starlight. Her hands gravitated towards Marco's own face and began poking in much the same way until she identified a dim set of crescent moons, practically visible only by their outlines, etched into it.

All of a sudden, a cool breeze nipped at her stomach and legs, eliciting a shiver. Was this new or had she just not noticed it when she was in Marco's embrace? He was obviously less affected by it, as evidenced by his confusion when she glanced around the room until she found the culprit: the balcony entrance's wintertime door had cracked open. More curious than that, though, was the faint red hue seeping through.

"Star?" The slightest irrational apprehension that he'd spoiled the moment rose in his mind until he managed to locate the object of her gaze. When she wordlessly removed herself from their embrace, he was already reaching behind him for Star's nightdress and handing it to her. The pair slipped outside and found the culprit, the ever-mysterious Blood Moon up above.

"Woah," she gasped, transfixed by the dim glow. "It's been a while since we've seen that."

"Yeah," he assented, moving forward to stand beside her as they leaned on the nearby crenellation. How many times had it shined down on them that he hadn't noticed? Or did it even _have_ an intrinsic special meaning? After all, blood moons were a common thing on Earth. As a kid, Marco really hadn't thought much of it - there'd been a total lunar eclipse centered on California when he was 9 or 10, and his parents had found an old telescope in their shed. Dad had said that sometimes he'd take a look into the sky to see if any random pattern of stars might provide inspiration for his next artwork; Marco thought it was cool, but he recalled his younger self's skepticism that a star could be so inspiring. _If I only knew_ , he laughed to himself. His thoughts were suddenly turned away from the sky above as he felt a chill that seemed to permeate him to the bone. "Stupid Mewni and its dumb cold winters," he grumbled, wrapping his arms around himself in a feeble attempt to protect his body heat. This didn't escape the notice of his girlfriend, her hands starting to shine with magic.

Star closed her eyes and focused; her wandless magic had improved rapidly, but softer, more nuanced spells which _didn't_ involve lightning and explosions and adorable fantasy creatures still took some extra concentration. "Toasty Thermo Tidal Wave," she confidently intoned, feeling an energy vibrate through her body and melt away the chill of the night.

Marco closed _his_ eyes and relaxed, expecting a hit of warmth to console him as well. After a few seconds of nothing but a faint prickle of heat coming from her direction, he was met with one of her signature innocent-looking grins; he was familiar enough with the nuances to know this was anything but. "Star, you can make that spell bigger, right?"

"I could," she trilled, her half-lidded cerulean eyes never breaking contact with his own, "but where's the fun in that?" Marco rolled his eyes and stepped over, catching her when she practically tossed herself backwards into his arms. He felt the heat wash over him now, lulling him once more into contentedness as he chuckled at her antics. They silently stared at the moon above, thoughts swirling through their heads as the now-soothing air and the gentle warmth of their closeness kept them comfortable in the chilly night. This was, of course, only a temporary refuge from the struggles and sorrows of the real world beyond the boundaries of their little tryst, but it meant the world to Star all the same. She had once said she needed him by her side in times of peace and danger, but for a while, life and feelings and heartbreak had gotten in the way of at least some of that for both of them. Perhaps, even through all of that, she'd still always known it was true, but times like this with her in his arms (or vice versa) taught her how prophetic those words truly were. "They say humans don't have magic, but you might have the _real_ warming spell, Diaz," she teased, snuggling even deeper into his embrace and intertwining one of her hands with his own.

His heart swelled as her affection and reassurance as it always had and always would. "Mmm. Please don't turn it off, though." She giggled at his request; she wasn't going to, either way.

Another few minutes of silence transpired before she spoke up again. "Whaddya think it means, Marco?"

"That I don't want to freeze to death out here?"

"Not the spell, silly. Although at least they'd find our corpsicles hugging so they'd know we were 'friends'." She made air quotes and snorted on the last word; she wasn't the _only_ one who had been oblivious to the dissonance in their words and actions in the past. "I meant _that_ ," she finished, pointing at the moon above them.

"Oh. Well, I guess there's the cheekmarks-"

"Besides the magic stuff," she huffed out, sounding more annoyed than she intended. "Like, what does it mean for us? It's supposed to 'bind our souls for all eternity' or something."

He pretty quickly figured out the hidden anxiety buried in this line of thinking and mulled over the proper words to say, rubbing her hand in comfort. After a tense few seconds, he took a deep breath. "Maybe it's like you being Queen."

"Uh, what? Are you getting hypothermia or something?"

"No, no, hear me out. When I first met you, you already knew what your future was gonna be, and it freaked you out for a while. And a lot of stuff with that has changed since then, but you've become an amazing person who cares about monsters and Mewmans and everyone in between and just wants to do your part to help however you can. So sure, maybe someone _did_ tell you you were gonna be Queen, but pretty much everything you've done with it came from your own genuine compassion and care, so does that really matter too much?"

She exhaled and kept her gaze fixed longingly on the hypnotic ruby brodum above. "No, I guess not."

He shifted a bit and turned her chin so they were looking at each other. "Maybe that's how the whole Blood Moon thing works, then. It's not dictating our future, but just… showing us the potential that's already there. Not forcing us to do anything, but 'choosing' us because we already had something special, because we'd always have each other's backs and work through stuff together. The moon _definitely_ isn't why I do those things," he stated with a finality, resting his forehead on hers.

"Same here," she beamed at him, feeling even more intimate with him now than in their prior activities. Some dark part of her deep in her gut would never be sure that she _deserved_ his love and support, that it must've been given to her for some other reason, but he was always more than willing to prove it wrong. She leaned forward for a kiss and he met her in the middle, deeper than even most of their kisses so far this evening, before finally pulling away. With as much compassion as she could fit into her voice, she sighed out, "Thanks, Marco."

"You're welcome. Hey, wait a minute, is it midnight yet?"

A little magic clock, in the shape of some sort of rainbow bird, appeared in her hand. "About quarter after," she answered evenly, before she caught the implications of his words. Her eyes widened as she looked over her shoulder, beaming at him before nuzzling into his cheek. "Our friendship-aversary!" Maybe it was weird to get so excited over it, but they still _were_ , after all, best friends above all else even if some other labels applied now, too.

Marco nodded into her shoulder. "Best two years of my life." Even with the tension, the near-death experiences, and the practically monthly existential crises, he wouldn't trade it for anything that any dimension had to offer. He'd fought monsters, gallivanted around the universe, even cast magic in times of grave danger, and it was all because of the girl in front of him. In the back of his mind, rationally, he knew that it was unfair to give himself so little credit; he had grown into someone bold and confident when he needed to be, like he'd always dreamed of. But like everything else, this doubt itself was _also_ mended by Star: the "I need you"s, the "I've got you"s and, more recently, the "I love you"s lifted his spirits more than any of spells or summons or wings could.

Star found herself yawning as this level of relaxation progressed naturally to drowsiness. "Guess it's about that time, huh?" she drawled, wiggling her way out of Marco's hold and turning to face him, still holding one of his hands.

"We've got meetings through most of the morning and afternoon tomorrow, so we should get some rest, yeah," he grumbled. They had dinner plans on Earth tomorrow for the occasion, but Marco still felt a pang of guilt that there wasn't time to set up anything else special. She was so much more to him than his girlfriend that this occasion, in turn, seemed to have a gravity to it unlike any other. Star had told him it was fine, but he made it a whole thing and they'd both gotten a bit miffed over it; at least that had happened well before the day itself. He reluctantly started to make his way back inside, mixed emotions over the wonderful night they'd shared and the prospect of it having to end so soon simmering in his head, but was stopped short not far into her room when her hand held his in place.

"Hey," she called, causing him to turn back around. "This was _perfect_ , Marco. I know we can't always get time to do whatever we want, but stuff like this means more to me than I even know how to say."

Marco smiled bashfully and looked away before his face morphed into a slight grimace. He swallowed hard, willing himself to speak before his mind could overthink the words into oblivion. "Can I stay with you tonight?" Star sputtered a bit and couldn't vocalize a response right away. "I- uh, I mean, just- just sleeping. It felt really good being so, um, close to you and I don't want it to end and-"

"I'd love that," she quickly sputtered to end his nervous rambling, her voice sounding much less confident than her mind was.

He raised an eyebrow at her rapid response, his mind whirring with worries. "What about the guards? What about your _parents_? I think River might strangle me with my own limbs if he walked in..."

Star sat down on the bed, adjusting the pillows and blankets to make it comfortable for the two of them. "Yeah, you have a point. We'll have to be careful to wake up _extra_ early in the morning, then, to make sure we can get you out of here before anyone notices. Worst comes to worst, I'll just use my Butterfly Form and toss you through a portal!" she joked, beckoning him to join her. "And between you and me, I'd be more worried about Mom."

"Noted," he squeaked out. Marco gave her a lopsided grin and rubbed the back of his neck before lying down beside her. They initially kept a bit of distance as their tender comfortability from earlier warred with their respective anxieties over this even _newer_ situation. One side finally seemed to win when she stirred him from his thoughts, taking the lead once more and pulled him into her arms. He yawned and reciprocated the embrace, sharing one last languid kiss before she tucked her head next to his chin, their legs naturally tangling themselves up together under the blanket.

In the haze at the threshold of dreams, Marco was pretty sure he heard a mumbled "Love you, Marco". When he responded "Love you too, Star," she had already fallen asleep with a wide smile and a dimly glowing pair of hearts, and he soon joined her with a matching pair of moons for what would be the most content slumber either ever had.

...and when Moon found them in the morning, any plans to chastise Star for being late to breakfast were dashed in an instant as she carefully closed the door with a knowing smirk.


End file.
